Lady Q's finish disappointing tourney with win

Jan. 15, 2013

Written by

Joe Sneve and staff reports

The Big Sioux Conference tournament didn’t go as Coach Jeff Dvorak would have liked for his Lady Quarriers placing 7th in the traveling, four-game contest.

Although the tournament ended well with a 52-32 win over Tea Area, Dell Rapids’ season struggles continued with three disappointing losses to start the BSC event.

First round

In what was the most closely contested game of the tournament for Dell Rapids, the Lady Quarriers started the week off with a heartbreaking 41-40 loss to Lennox.

“We put together a very solid game with the exception of our shooting,” Dvorak said. “It's really difficult winning any game shooting 18 percent.”

After trailing 18-12 at the half, the Lady Quarriers managed to close the gap in the second, but couldn’t finish the comeback.

“Our girls fought extremely hard to have a shot at the end,” Dvorak said. “I think we all see improvement. Now we have to start scoring better, and finish off these types of games with a win.”

Mikaela Stofferahn and Rachel Devlin each had 11 points, and Julia Rice added 10 more for Dell Rapids. Lennox’s offense was led by Kristen Klinger, who scored 12 points.

Second round

Against fourth-ranked Tri-Valley, the Lady Quarriers kept it interesting for much of the game but found themselves down 37-24 heading into the final period of play. Dell Rapids lost to the Mutstangs 52-33.

“We started the game so well – hit some threes, contained their bigs and took care of the basketball,” Dvorak said.

The Lady Quarriers trailed by three early in the 3rd quarter, “then we just quit scoring,” Dvorak said.

Another night of shooting struggles is what led to the loss, he said.

“Right now our defense is fairly solid but we just can't put the ball in the hole,” Dvorak said.

Dell Rapids shot 22 percent from the field.

Tri-Valley’s Mariah Swier and Alison Cross led all scorers with 15 points each. For the Lady Quarriers, Corynn Hoff had eight points.

Third round

It was another tough night for the Lady Quarriers against Dakota Valley as Dell Rapids watched a 34-23 halftime deficit inflate to 61-39 by the end of the game.

“Unfortunately, we lost this game before the tip,” Dvorak said. “We were just not ready to go at all when the game started. Our guards have to be able to handle the pressure better at the onset of the game.”

After the first quarter, Dvorak said, the Lady Quarriers were able to cut the gap to 19-24, “but it was too big of a hole to dig out of.”

“Right now we are fragile and can't afford any lack of focus or energy,” he said. “We made a step backward tonight – after two pretty solid efforts in our last two games –so we need to focus on getting back on an upward track.”

Rice had a team-high 8 points for the Lady Quarriers. Dakota Valley’s McKenzie Mennenga led all scorers with 20 points.

Final round

In the seventh place game, the Lady Quarriers scored a tournament high and earned a decisive 52-32 win over the Tea Titans.

“What a clean game,” Dvorak said. “Tea has the ability to disrupt you as they have some athleticism, and I thought we handled that well and played a very well-rounded game.

Despite only shooting 25 percent from the field, a balanced attack of three-pointers, offensive put-backs, strong post shots and penetration led to the win, he said.

Nine different Dell Rapids players scored.

“It was a step forward that we must continue in the second half (of the season,” Dvorak said.

Dell Rapids’ Rachel Devlin had 12 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs and the team’s first double-double of the season Rice added nine rebounds. Hoff had five assists.